You know the health benefits of growing your own organic garden, that is why you put the time and effort into it. Use the great information provided in this article to build upon your own current knowledge and hopefully, learn something new to maximize the benefits both for you and everyone you know.
If you are planting vegetables, choose varieties that don’t require processing in order to keep. For example, sweet potatoes and onions will keep for months as long as they are kept cool and dry, without any additional work on your part. This reduces the amount of time you have to spend after harvesting.
After planting your garden, maintaining it is still a work in progress. Throughout the summer season, it is a must for a gardener to continue to prune, pick or deadhead blooms. Gardening can be physically exhausting with hauling dirt and digging holes, but at the end of the day, your hard work is paid off by seeing the beauty that you have created.
Plants should be protected from cold weather. During winter time, the cold can present dangers to plants, either by freezing the water in their stems or forming sharp ice crystals which may sever or puncture important organs. Tomatoes, in particular, are very susceptible to the frost and should be moved to a warmer indoor climate, or covered outside with frost-resistant cloth.
If frost has killed your pumpkins before they’ve had a chance to turn orange, it’s not too late to save them. Cut the pumpkins off the vine, leaving a minimum of 4 inches of the vine on the top of the pumpkin. Wash them thoroughly with water mixed with a small amount of bleach to prevent the development of mold. Bring them inside, and place them in a warm, sunny location, turning them occasionally so the sun can reach all the green areas of the pumpkin. Within a few weeks or less, you’ll have bright orange pumpkins to carve into jack-o-lanterns or use to make homemade pumpkin pie.
Don’t assume that insects are to blame for all plants ailments. There are many things that can affect the health of a plant. The PH of the water you are using, the location of the plant (under shade vs direct sun), the amount of soil in the pot and several other reasons can be a determining factor.
A useful solution to keep pests like bugs and flying insects away from your garden is to put basil, garlic or parsley plants as trim plants around your garden. These plants have the ability to deter pests, while still being quite useful in your kitchen! If a splash of color is more your style, marigolds have a similar effect.
When using fertilizer, moderation can be the key to success. While it’s true that using a fertilizer can enhance your garden’s productivity, it’s better to apply it sparingly. An overdose of fertilizer can cause excessive growth of the plant’s foliage with stunted development of the fruit or vegetables thereby reducing your harvest.
Salt deposits can form unsightly marks on your clay pots. To easily remove the deposits mix water, rubbing alcohol and white vinegar in equal parts and spray onto the pots. Scrub with a plastic pad or brush and allow the pot to dry completely. Once the pot is dry, you are ready to plant.
Make sure your plants are always evenly spaced by turning your rake or shovel handle in to a measuring stick. Simply lay a yardstick next to your shovel and copy the markings to the handle with a permanent marker. The next time you’re ready to put in new plants all you’ll need is your shovel.
When you are pruning a tree, make sure that your tools are sharp. Cutting with a dull tool can tear the bark off the tree, causing unnecessary damage to the tree. Not only that, cutting with a dull tool causes you to spend extra energy in cutting. A sharp tool will give you a cleaner cut with the least amount of effort.
If you need to do some gardening around your home, it is important that you wear insect repellent. Mosquitoes can carry diseases that can make you very sick. By simply spraying on some insect repellent, you are protecting your self from the possibility of contracting a dangerous disease like West Nile virus.
Remember to disinfect your garden tools periodically. This important function should not be overlooked. When you cut away damaged or diseased parts of a plant, there can be residuals of the diseased plant left on your tool. If you do not clean your tool, you can spread the disease to healthy plants.
To summarize, you already know why it is great to have an organic garden, now it is time to further your expertise in the field. Ideally, you learned something new in this area and will be able to grow a much better garden. There is nothing better than being able to enjoy produce that you grew yourself.
